Systems and methods for training a robotic dock for video conferencing

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for training a robotic dock for video conferencing are described. In some embodiments, a dock may be configured to receive an Information Handling System (IHS), the dock comprising: a motor; a microcontroller coupled to the motor; and a memory coupled to the microcontroller, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the microcontroller, cause the dock to: control the motor to automatically rotate the IHS with respect to a participant of the video conference; and in response to manual handling of the IHS, modify a behavior of the dock.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to Information Handling Systems(IHSs), and more specifically, to systems and methods for training arobotic dock for video conferencing.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is Information Handling Systems (IHSs). AnIHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicatesinformation or data for business, personal, or other purposes therebyallowing users to take advantage of the value of the information.Because technology and information handling needs and requirements varybetween different users or applications, IHSs may also vary regardingwhat information is handled, how the information is handled, how muchinformation is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly andefficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated.The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for aspecific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing,airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications.In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and softwarecomponents that may be configured to process, store, and communicateinformation and may include one or more computer systems, data storagesystems, and networking systems.

Video conferencing is an example of an IHS application. Generally, videoconferencing involves the use of IHSs for the reception and transmissionof audio-video signals by users at different locations, forcommunications among participants in real time.

The inventor hereof has recognized that, when people meet in person,they interact with each other in natural ways. For example, they makeeye-contact, use body language, and dynamically position themselves inrelation to others. When people meet virtually in a video conferencingsession, however, they lose those abilities, which often inhibitscommunications.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of systems and methods for training a robotic dock for videoconferencing are described. In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment,a dock may be configured to receive an Information Handling System(IHS), the dock comprising: a motor; a microcontroller coupled to themotor; and a memory coupled to the microcontroller, the memory havingprogram instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by themicrocontroller, cause the dock to: control the motor to automaticallyrotate the IHS with respect to a participant of the video conference;and in response to manual handling of the IHS, modify a behavior of thedock.

In some cases, the IHS may include a smart phone or tablet. Toautomatically rotate the IHS with respect to the participant, theprogram instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, may causethe dock to detect a voice in a direction of the participant using amicrophone array, and to rotate the IHS toward the participant inresponse to the detection. Additionally, or alternatively, the programinstructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, may cause the dockto change at least one of: (i) a color of at least one illuminatingelement of the light ring; or an (ii) intensity of at least one elementof the light ring to indicate a direction of the participant.

To automatically rotate the IHS with respect to the participant, theprogram instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, may causethe dock to detect a voice in a direction of another participant using amicrophone array, and to rotate the IHS away from the participant andtoward the other participant in response to the detection. The programinstructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, may also cause thedock to change at least one of: (i) a color of at least one illuminatingelement of the light ring; or an (ii) intensity of at least one elementof the light ring to indicate a direction of the other participant.

The program instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, maycause the dock to detect a voice in a direction of the participant usinga microphone array, wherein the manual handling comprises a manualrotation away from the participant during the detection, and to modifythe behavior, the program instructions, upon execution by themicrocontroller, may cause the dock to ignore sounds emitted by theparticipant during at least a portion of the video conference.

Additionally or alternatively, the program instructions, upon executionby the microcontroller, may cause the dock to detect a voice in adirection of a non-participant using a microphone array, wherein themanual handling comprises a manual rotation away from thenon-participant during the detection, where to modify the behavior, theprogram instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, cause thedock to ignore sounds emitted by the non-participant during at least aportion of the video conference.

Additionally or alternatively, the program instructions, upon executionby the microcontroller, may cause the dock to detect a voice in adirection of the participant using a microphone array, where the manualhandling comprises a manual rotation toward a silent participant duringthe detection, and where to modify the behavior, the programinstructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, may cause the dockto ignore sounds emitted by the participant during at least a portion ofthe video conference.

In another illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, a memory device mayhave program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by amicrocontroller of a dock configured to receive an IHS, cause the dockto: automatically rotate the IHS with respect to a participant of thevideo conference using a motor; and in response to manual handling ofthe IHS, modify a behavior of the dock.

To automatically rotate the IHS with respect to the participant, theprogram instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, may causethe dock to detect a voice in a direction of the participant, and torotate the IHS toward the participant in response to the detection.Additionally, or alternatively, the program instructions, upon executionby the microcontroller, may cause the dock to change at least one of:(i) a color of at least one illuminating element of the light ring; oran (ii) intensity of at least one illuminating element of the light ringto indicate a direction of the participant.

To automatically rotate the IHS with respect to the participant, theprogram instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, may causethe dock to detect a voice in a direction of another participant using amicrophone array, and to rotate the IHS away from the participant andtoward the other participant in response to the detection. Additionally,or alternatively, the program instructions, upon execution by themicrocontroller, may cause the dock to change at least one of: (i) acolor of at least one illuminating element of the light ring; or an (ii)intensity of at least one element of the light ring to indicate adirection of the other participant.

The program instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, maycause the dock to detect a voice in a direction of the participant usinga microphone array, where the manual handling comprises a manualrotation away from the participant during the detection, and where tomodify the behavior, the program instructions, upon execution by themicrocontroller, may cause the dock to ignore sounds emitted by theparticipant during at least a portion of the video conference.Additionally, or alternatively, the program instructions, upon executionby the microcontroller, may cause the dock to detect a voice in adirection of a non-participant using a microphone array, where themanual handling comprises a manual rotation away from thenon-participant during the detection, and where to modify the behavior,the program instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, maycause the dock to ignore sounds emitted by the non-participant during atleast a portion of the video conference. Additionally, or alternatively,the program instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, maycause the dock to detect a voice in a direction of the participant usinga microphone array, where the manual handling comprises a manualrotation toward a silent participant or a non-participant during thedetection, and where to modify the behavior, the program instructions,upon execution by the microcontroller, may cause the dock to ignoresounds emitted by the participant or the non-participant during at leasta portion of the video conference.

In yet another illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, in a dockconfigured to receive an IHS, a method may include automaticallyrotating the IHS with respect to a participant of the video conferenceusing a motor; and in response to manual handling of the IHS, modifyinga behavior of the dock. The method may also include detecting a voice ina direction of the participant using a microphone array, where themanual handling comprises a manual rotation away from the participantduring the detection, and where to modify the behavior, the method mayfurther comprise ignoring sounds emitted by the participant during atleast a portion of the video conference. Additionally, or alternatively,the method may include changing at least one of: (i) a color; or (ii) anintensity of at least one illuminating element of a light ring coupledto the dock to indicate a direction of the participant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention(s) is/are illustrated by way of example and is/arenot limited by the accompanying figures, in which like referencesindicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated forsimplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an example of a robotic dock for videoconferencing, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an example of a robotic dock holding anInformation Handling System (IHS), according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of examples of internal components of arobotic dock, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of a method for operating a roboticdock, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example of a method for training a roboticdock, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-D are diagrams of examples of various robotic dock statesattained during normal and/or training operation(s), according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams of examples of different robotic dockstates in the case of two docks being used concurrently in a same videoconferencing session, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example of internal components of anIHS, according to some embodiments

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods described herein enable the training of a roboticdock for video conferencing. In various embodiments, the dock mayinclude an independently operating processing unit so that it does notrequire a separate IHS to control its robotic behavior. Rather, a localparticipant of a video conferencing session may wirelessly connect anIHS to the dock as if it were a wireless speaker and microphone device,for example, over BLUETOOTH, WiFi direct, or the like. Once the IHS isin wireless communications with the robotic dock, the dock's speakersoutput sound received from remote participants and its microphone arraystarts listening for local participants' voices.

At some point, a local participant may insert or mechanically couple anIHS (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) to the robotic dock,as the IHS executes a video conferencing application that engages one ormore remote participants in a video conferencing session with the localparticipant. Whenever the robotic dock encounters a participant's voicespeaking, it rotates the IHS to face that source. As the dock turns, thedisplay of the IHS also turns towards the active source, therebyestablishing eye contact between local and remote participants.Therefore, by placing the IHS in the dock, local participants giveremote participants a seat at the local table, with the ability tofollow a conversation between multiple participants.

In some embodiments, systems and methods described herein may be used totrain and/or correct the dock's robotic behavior to ignore false sourcesand/or to establish eye contact independently of which participant iscurrently active in a conversation, and in manner so as not to disruptan ongoing video conference.

Moreover, to help participants override the dock's defaultfollow-the-speaker behavior, different gestures may be made available.For example, manually turning the dock and/or IHS away from a false orundesirable source and pointing it to a correct or alternative sourcemay serve as an input to train a machine learning (ML) or artificialintelligence (AI) model that, when executed by the dock's processor,drives behavior modifications. Gestures may also be used by aparticipant to grab the other participants' attention, for instance, bypointing the camera towards them (or anything else) before he or shestarts speaking.

When multiple robotic docks are present in the same room, each dock maybe configured to ignore other docks as sources. For instance, when adock is turned on or otherwise activated, it may send out an audiosignal that tells other docks to ignore it during at least a portion ofthe video conference call.

To illustrate the foregoing, FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an example ofrobotic dock 100 for video conferencing, according to some embodiments.As shown, insert 101 is configured to receive IHS 200 (in FIG. 2) and tomechanically couple it to dock 100, where it sits atop fabric cover 102,plastic liner 103, and speaker carrier 104.

In some cases, speaker carrier 104 may include a circular ring or arrayof loudspeaker elements equally spaced from each other and configured sothat, during a video conference, every participant around the table iscapable of following the audio portion of the conference with clarity.

Speaker carrier 104 is coupled to motor 105, which may be implemented asany motor having a rotary actuator that allows for control of itsangular position along with a sensor for position feedback, such as aservo motor, or the like. In operation, when motor 105 turns undercontrol of a microprocessor (shown in FIG. 3), it effectively rotatesinsert 101 around its center around the vertical axis. When IHS 200 iscoupled to insert 101, motor 105 effectively rotates IHS 200.

In some cases, microphone carrier 106 may include a circular ring orarray of equally spaced microphone elements, and it may be used todetermine the location and/or distance of sound sources with respect todock 100, and/or to filter out unwanted noises.

One or more of elements 101-106 may be coupled to cylindrical base 107,as well as volume ring and rocker switch 108. Light Emitting Diode (LED)carrier 109 may include a circular ring or array of equally spacedilluminating elements, and it may be used to indicate the location ofactive, passive, and/or ignored audio sources around dock 100, tocontrol the output volume, etc. In some implementations, blue lightssignify sources and the intensity of the light shows their level ofactivity (e.g., duration and/or loudness). When a source is ignored thecorresponding light may turn red. Moreover, LED carrier 109 may beoptically coupled to lightguide 110 near bottom portion 111, which inturn may include power, reset, and/or wireless interface controls orswitches.

Although several of the aforementioned elements are shown havinggenerally cylindrical or circular shapes, it should be noted that othershapes may be used in different dock implementations (e.g., oval,square, etc.).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an example of robotic dock 100 holdingIHS 200, according to some embodiments. Particularly, IHS 200 sitsinside insert 101 of dock 100 during a video conference call with remoteparticipant 201. In this example, light lobe 202 (produced by one ormore illuminating elements of LED array 109) indicates, here with ahigher intensity, that a local participant in its direction currentlyhas a more prominent speaking role than another local participant in thedirection of light lobe 203. In other implementations, the lightindications provided via LED array 109 may distinguish between activeand passive local participants using different colors.

In this case, dock 100 has rotated remote participant 201 completelytoward the actively speaking (or more actively speaking) participant whois in the direction of lobe 202. In other cases, however, if thedistance or angle between the two concurrently active participants, orbetween an active and a passive participant, is within a thresholdvalue, and/or if the loudness and/or duration of their speech indicatethat they have similar roles in the video conference, IHS 200 may berotated to an intermediary position between those two participants. Inthose cases, the angle of rotation may be calculated using a weightedaverage of the loudness and/or duration of the speech of two or morelocal participants, so that the IHS is turned proportionally more towardthe participant with a more prominent role.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of examples of internal components of roboticdock 100. In various embodiments, one or more of components 300 may behoused within base 107. As depicted, components 300 include processor ormicrocontroller unit (MCU) 301. MCU 301 is coupled to memory 305 havingprogram instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by MCU 301,cause dock 100 to perform one or more of the operations describedherein. For example, program instructions may implement an ML or AImodel trainable for identifying participants and different soundprofiles (e.g. noise, music, and voice), as well as for responding withautomated behaviors to detected events by turning IHS 200 toward or awayfrom any given source and/or illuminating different patterns around dock100 using light ring 308.

MCU 301 is coupled to wireless interface 304 (e.g., RF circuitry andantenna) configured to implement the BLUETOOTH, WiFi direct, or othersuitable wireless communication protocol.

MCU 301 is also coupled to motor circuitry 302, which is configured tooperate motor 105 and position or angular sensor(s) 303. Meanwhile,sensor(s) 303 are configured to provide current position/angle feedbackto MCU 301. MCU is also coupled to speakers 307 (speaker array 104),microphones 306 (microphone array 106), light ring 308 (light array109), and one or more user controls 309 (e.g., buttons, switches, etc.).In various implementations, elements or modules 302-309 may be coupledto MCU 301 using any suitable electronic circuitry, bus, interface, orthe like.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of method 400 for operating roboticdock 100. In some embodiments, method 400 may be performed in responseto MCU 301's execution of program instructions stored in memory 305.Particularly, at block 401, dock 100 begins taking part in a videoconferencing session. For example, a participant may wirelessly pair andconnect IHS 200 to dock 100 via wireless interface 304, such thatspeakers 307 can reproduce sound received from one or more remoteparticipants, and microphones 306 pick up sound produced by localparticipants, during execution of a video conference session by the IHS.

At block 402, MCU 301 detects a participant's voice. In some cases, MCU301 may implement audio processing usable to determine whether anincoming audio signal fits a noise, music, and/or speech profile, forexample, using spectral analysis and/or pattern recognition techniques.Still at block 402, MCU 301 may triangulate and identify a positionand/or angle of an active or speaking local participant relative to dock100 and/or IHS 200 using microphones 306. Then, at block 403, MCU 301may rotate IHS 200 toward active participant(s). Additionally, oralternatively, MCU 301 may adjust the intensity and/or color of one ormore illuminating elements (e.g., LED) of light ring 308 to indicate theposition and/or relative loudness of primary and secondary participants.

At block 404, MCU 301 may detect an event or command during the videoconference. Examples of events or commands may include movement of oneor more active local participants, a new local participant's speechbeing detected, another dock being detected near dock 100, and/or manualrotation of dock 100 to train or override (e.g., to include or exclude aparticipant) its robotic behavior. If no such event is detected, controlreturns to block 402. Otherwise control passes to block 405.

At block 405, MCU 301 may turn motor 302 to thereby follow IHS 200toward a moving local participant, turn away from the local participantand toward a new local participant, and/or turn away from an ignoredaudio source and/or from another dock. For example, when another dock ispresent, it may emit a non-audible audio signal using its own speakerssuch that event 404 includes the MCU 301's detection of the other dock'sposition and/or distance using microphones 306. In response, at block405, MCU 301's may prevent dock 100 from turning IHS 200 directly towardthe other dock (and respective IHS), in addition to emitting its ownnon-audible audio signal using speakers 307 to facilitate the otherdock's detection of dock 100.

Additionally, or alternatively, at block 405, MCU 301 may adjust theintensity and/or color of one or more illuminating elements (e.g., LED)of light ring 308 to indicate the position and/or relative loudness ofprimary and secondary participants, and/or the position and/or relativeloudness of an ignored audio source.

In some cases, the automated robotic behavior of dock 100 enabled by MLand/or AI algorithms may be overridden to train an ML or AI model and/orto correct undesirable actions in a customized manner. To that end, FIG.5 is a flowchart of an example of method 500 for training robotic dock100. In some embodiments, method 500 may be performed in response to MCU301's execution of program instructions stored in memory 305.Particularly, at block 501, MCU 301 automatically turns motor 302 tothereby rotate IHS 200 toward or away from a detected local participant(e.g., the current or last local speaker during the video session).

At block 502, MCU 301 determines whether dock 100 has been manuallyhandled or turned by a local participant, for example, using positionsensors 303. If not, controller returns to block 501. Otherwise, atblock 503, MCU 301 feeds selected inputs such as, for example, an angleor amount of rotation and a direction of the rotation (to or away from adetected and/or identified audio source) to the ML algorithm to teachdock 101 to ignore the audio source in the future (e.g., in the samevideo conference, in a subsequent video conferences, in any videoconference among the same group of people, etc.) and/or to focus on anon-speaking participant or other item that does not produce sound.

In various implementations, other contextual information usable by theML/AI engine to train the dock's robotic behavior (e.g., to control thespeed of rotation, automatically ignored sources, etc.) may include: anumber of local participants, a number of remote participants, an audioloudness level for a duration preceding a manual handling operation, anumber and position of other docks in the same video conference, aduration of the video conference, a time of day, an repeated order orsequence of different manual handling operations, etc. In cases whereMCU 301 is operable to execute voice recognition operations based uponinstructions stored in memory 302, examples of additional contextinformation usable to change dock 100's behavior include the identity ofthe active participant and/or the language spoken at the time of themanual handling operation.

FIGS. 6A-D are diagrams of examples of various robotic dock states600A-D attained during normal and/or training operation(s).Particularly, in state 600A, dock 100 is configured to determine thepresence of active audio sources. Dock 100 turns IHS 200 toward localparticipant 601A (“primary participant”) in response to currentlydetecting a voice in the captured audio signal from the localparticipant direction. In addition, a currently passive, silent, orlower speaking local participant 603A (“secondary participant”) may alsobe identified, for example, based on previously or concurrently detectedvoices. To indicate this distinction, light ring 308 may be controlledto produce light lobe 602A larger and/or brighter than light lobe 604A.

In state 600B, dock 100 may use microphones 306 to filter out selectedsources based upon distance (e.g., by triangulation) or sound profile(e.g., exclude everything that is not a human voice). As such, dock 100detects local participant 601B and ignores music source 604B. In thisexample, sound source 603B is outside the bounds of detection of dock100. Similarly as before, the detection, position, distance, and/orloudness of local participant 601B may be indicated using light lobe602B, and there is no visual indication of music source 604B. In othercases, light ring 308 may indicate different types of sound sources(e.g., noise, music, or voice) with different colors.

In state 600C, dock 100 is trained to ignore source 603C. If needed(e.g., a noisy but otherwise non-speaking local participant) may beignored by dock 100 in response to manual handling operation that turnsIHS 200 from source 603C and toward local participant 601C. In thiscase, the detection, position, distance, and/or loudness of localparticipant 601C may be indicated with a first color lobe 602C (e.g.,blue), whereas the presence of newly ignored source 603C may beindicated using a different color (e.g., red) to create lobe 604C.

In state 600D, dock 100 is set by default to address any presentlyactive source(s), thus rotating IHS 200 back and forth between localparticipants 601D, 603D, 605D, and 607D. In some cases, when two or morelocal participants speak at the same time, dock 100 may maintain IHS 200facing the last active participant for a preset amount of time, and thenpan back and forth between all active participants. This behavior may beoverridden, for example, by manually turning dock 100 toward a selectedone of the active participants. Moreover, in some cases, when two ormore sources are distant from each other by an angle smaller than athreshold (e.g., as between participants 601D and 603D), the sources maybe treated as a single source for purposes of rotating IHS 200.

In some situations, a passer-by or non-participant may be ignored usingmanual handling of dock 100. Specifically, by grabbing IHS 200 and/ordock 100 and turning it away from that source, dock 100 responds bysubsequently ignoring it. Additionally, or alternatively, if a localparticipant would like to have a side conversation with another localparticipant apart from the video conference, they may point dock 100away from them. Later, once the side conversation is finished, theparticipant may again be included in the video conference by turningdock 100 toward them. These corrections may be fed into the ML algorithmto make each dock behave uniquely, and over time become tuned to theirspecific location and users.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams of examples of different robotic dockstates 700A and 700B in the case of two docks being used concurrently ina same video conferencing session, according to some embodiments. Instate 700A, first dock 100A and second dock 100B detect localparticipant 701 and learn to ignore each other, for purposes of rotatingtheir respective IHSs, based on the manual handling of each dock. Aparticipant may teach each of docks 100A and 100B to ignore each otherby pointing them away from one another, for example, when both remoteparticipants are both actively speaking. As a result, blue light lobes702 and 703 indicate the location of participant 701, and red lightlobes 704 and 705 indicate the location of ignored sources 100B and100A, respectively.

Additionally, or alternatively, as shown in state 700B, each of docks100A and 100B may be configured to produce a signal (e.g., a highfrequency, inaudible audio signal) to inform the other dock of itspresence. For example, dock 100A may produce signal 706 upon poweringup. In response, dock 100B locates signal 706 and ignores dock 100A inresponse. As a result, red light lobe 707 may indicate the location ofignored source 100A. Moreover, dock 100B may produce a similar signal assignal 706 so that and dock 100A can learn the position of dock 100B andignore it as an audio source, at least for purposes of dock 100Aavoiding turning its IHS toward dock 100B during the video conference.It should be noted that this method works for any number of docks orconference sets.

For purposes of this disclosure, an IHS may include any instrumentalityor aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, calculate,determine, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, communicate, manifest, detect, record,reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, ordata for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example,an IHS may be a personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tabletcomputer, mobile device (e.g., Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smartphone), server (e.g., blade server or rack server), a network storagedevice, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape,performance, functionality, and price. An IHS may include Random AccessMemory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, Read-OnlyMemory (ROM), and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additionalcomponents of an IHS may include one or more disk drives, one or morenetwork ports for communicating with external devices as well as variousI/O devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, touchscreen, and/or a videodisplay. An IHS may also include one or more buses operable to transmitcommunications between the various hardware components.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example of internal components 800 ofIHS 200, according to some embodiments. As depicted, components 800include processor 801. In various embodiments, IHS 200 may be asingle-processor system, or a multi-processor system including two ormore processors. Processor(s) 801 may include any processor capable ofexecuting program instructions, such as a PENTIUM series processor, orany general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of a varietyof Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs), such as an x86 ISA or a ReducedInstruction Set Computer (RISC) ISA (e.g., POWERPC, ARM, SPARC, MIPS,etc.).

IHS 200 includes chipset 802 coupled to processor(s) 801. In certainembodiments, chipset 802 may utilize a QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) busto communicate with processor(s) 801. In various embodiments, chipset802 may provide processor(s) 801 with access to a number of resources.Moreover, chipset 802 may be coupled to communication interface(s) 805to enable communications with other IHSs and/or peripheral devices viavarious wired and/or wireless networks, such as Ethernet, WiFi,BLUETOOTH, cellular or mobile networks (e.g., CDMA, TDMA, LTE, etc.),satellite networks, or the like. For example, communication interface(s)805 may be coupled to chipset 802 via a PCIe bus.

Chipset 802 may be coupled to display controller(s) 804, which mayinclude one or more or graphics processor(s) (GPUs) on a graphics bus,such as an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or Peripheral ComponentInterconnect Express (PCIe) bus. As shown, display controller(s) 804provide video or display signals to display device 811.

Display device 811 may include a flexible display that is deformable(e.g., bent, folded, rolled, or stretched) by an external force appliedthereto. For example, display device 811 may include LCD, OLED, orAMOLED, plasma, electrophoretic, or electrowetting panel(s) or film(s).Moreover, display device 811 may include a plurality of pixels arrangedin a matrix, configured to display visual information, such as text,two-dimensional images, video, three-dimensional images, etc.

Display device 811 may be configured to sense haptic and/or physicaltouch events, and to generate touch information. To this end, displaydevice 811 may include a touchscreen matrix (e.g., a layered capacitivepanel or the like) and/or touch controller configured to receive andinterpret multi-touch gestures from a user touching the screen with astylus, or one or more fingers. Generally, display and/or touch controlaspects of display device 811 may be collectively operated andcontrolled by display controller 804.

Chipset 802 may also provide processor 801 and/or display controller(s)804 with access to memory 803. In various embodiments, system memory 803may be implemented using any suitable memory technology, such as staticRAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) or magnetic disks, or anynonvolatile/Flash-type memory, such as a solid-state drive (SSD) or thelike. Memory 803 may store program instructions that, upon execution byprocessor 801 and/or controller(s) 804, present a UI interface to a userof IHS 100.

Chipset 802 may further provide access to one or more hard disk and/orsolid-state drives 807. In certain embodiments, chipset 802 may alsoprovide access to one or more optical drives or other removable-mediadrives. In certain embodiments, chipset 802 may also provide access toone or more Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports 808.

Upon booting of IHS 200, processor(s) 801 may utilize Basic Input/OutputSystem (BIOS) 809 instructions to initialize and test hardwarecomponents coupled to IHS 100 and to load an Operating System (OS) foruse by IHS 200. BIOS 809 provides an abstraction layer that allows theOS to interface with certain hardware components that are utilized byIHS 100. Via the hardware abstraction layer provided by BIOS 809,software stored in memory 803 and executed by the processor(s) 801 ofIHS 200 is able to interface with certain I/O devices that are coupledto IHS 200. The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) wasdesigned as a successor to BIOS. As a result, many modern IHSs utilizeUEFI in addition to or instead of a BIOS. As used herein, BIOS isintended to also encompass UEFI.

Chipset 802 may also provide access to one or more user input devices806, for example, using a super I/O controller or the like. Forinstance, chipset 802 may provide access to a keyboard (e.g., keyboard502), mouse, trackpad, stylus, totem, or any other peripheral inputdevice, including touchscreen display 811. These input devices mayinterface with chipset 802 through wired connections (e.g., in the caseof touch inputs received via display controller(s) 804) or wirelessconnections (e.g., via communication interfaces(s) 805). In some cases,chipset 802 may be used to interface with user input devices such askeypads, biometric scanning devices, and voice or optical recognitiondevices.

In certain embodiments, chipset 802 and/or EC 809 may provide aninterface for communications with one or more sensors 810. Sensors 810may include, but are not limited to: electric, magnetic, hall effect,radio, optical, infrared, thermal, force, pressure, touch, acoustic,ultrasonic, proximity, position, angle, deformation, bending, direction,movement, velocity, rotation, acceleration and/or lid sensor(s).

In various embodiments, IHS 200 may not include all of components 800shown in FIG. 8. Additionally, or alternatively, IHS 200 may includecomponents in addition to those shown in FIG. 8. Additionally, oralternatively, components represented as discrete in FIG. 8 may beintegrated with other components. For example, all or a portion of thefunctionality provided by the illustrated components may be implementedin a System-On-Chip (SOC), or the like.

It should be understood that various operations described herein may beimplemented in software executed by logic or processing circuitry,hardware, or a combination thereof. The order in which each operation ofa given method is performed may be changed, and various operations maybe added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. It is intendedthat the invention(s) described herein embrace all such modificationsand changes and, accordingly, the above description should be regardedin an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Although the invention(s) is/are described herein with reference tospecific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention(s), as setforth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figuresare to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense,and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scopeof the present invention(s). Any benefits, advantages, or solutions toproblems that are described herein with regard to specific embodimentsare not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeature or element of any or all the claims.

Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used toarbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus,these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or otherprioritization of such elements. The terms “coupled” or “operablycoupled” are defined as connected, although not necessarily directly,and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined asone or more unless stated otherwise. The terms “comprise” (and any formof comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any formof have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form ofinclude, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any formof contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linkingverbs. As a result, a system, device, or apparatus that “comprises,”“has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those oneor more elements but is not limited to possessing only those one or moreelements. Similarly, a method or process that “comprises,” “has,”“includes” or “contains” one or more operations possesses those one ormore operations but is not limited to possessing only those one or moreoperations.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A dock configured to receive an InformationHandling System (IHS), the dock comprising: a motor; a microcontrollercoupled to the motor; and a memory coupled to the microcontroller, thememory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon executionby the microcontroller, cause the dock to: control the motor toautomatically rotate the IHS with respect to a participant of a videoconference; and in response to manual handling of the IHS, modify abehavior of the dock, wherein at least one of: (a) the programinstructions, upon execution, further cause the dock to detect a voicein a direction of the participant using a microphone array, wherein themanual handling comprises a manual rotation away from the participantduring the detection, and wherein the modification of the behaviorcomprises ignoring sounds emitted by the participant during at least aportion of the video conference; (b) the program instructions, uponexecution, further cause the dock to detect a voice in a direction ofthe participant using a microphone array, wherein the manual handlingcomprises a manual rotation toward a silent participant during thedetection, and wherein the modification of the behavior comprisesignoring sounds emitted by the participant during at least a portion ofthe video conference; or (c) the program instructions, upon execution,further cause the dock to detect a voice in a direction of anon-participant using a microphone array, wherein the manual handlingcomprises a manual rotation away from the non-participant during thedetection, and wherein the modification of the behavior comprisesignoring sounds emitted by the non-participant during at least a portionof the video conference.
 2. The dock of claim 1, wherein the IHScomprises a smart phone or tablet.
 3. The dock of claim 1, wherein toautomatically rotate the IHS with respect to the participant, theprogram instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, cause thedock to detect a voice in a direction of the participant using amicrophone array, and to rotate the IHS toward the participant inresponse to the detection.
 4. The dock of claim 3, wherein the programinstructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, cause the dock tochange at least one of: (i) a color of at least one illuminating elementof a light ring; or an (ii) intensity of at least one element of a lightring to indicate a direction of the participant.
 5. The dock of claim 1,wherein to automatically rotate the IHS with respect to the participant,the program instructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, causethe dock to detect a voice in a direction of another participant using amicrophone array, and to rotate the IHS away from the participant andtoward the other participant in response to the detection.
 6. The dockof claim 5, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by themicrocontroller, cause the dock to change at least one of: (i) a colorof at least one illuminating element of a light ring; or an (ii)intensity of at least one element of a light ring to indicate adirection of the other participant.
 7. A memory device having programinstructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a microcontroller ofa dock configured to receive an Information Handling System (IHS), causethe dock to: automatically rotate the IHS with respect to a participantof a video conference using a motor; and in response to manual handlingof the IHS, modify a behavior of the dock wherein at least one of: (a)the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the dock todetect a voice in a direction of the participant using a microphonearray, wherein the manual handling comprises a manual rotation away fromthe participant during the detection, and wherein the modification ofthe behavior comprises ignoring sounds emitted by the participant duringat least a portion of the video conference; (b) the programinstructions, upon execution, further cause the dock to detect a voicein a direction of a non-participant using a microphone array, whereinthe manual handling comprises a manual rotation away from thenon-participant during the detection, and wherein the modification ofthe behavior comprises ignoring sounds emitted by the non-participantduring at least a portion of the video conference; or (c) the programinstructions, upon execution, further cause the dock to detect a voicein a direction of the participant using a microphone array, wherein themanual handling comprises a manual rotation toward a silent participantor a non-participant during the detection, and wherein the modificationof the behavior comprises ignoring sounds emitted by the participant orthe non-participant during at least a portion of the video conference.8. The memory device of claim 7, wherein to automatically rotate the IHSwith respect to the participant, the program instructions, uponexecution by the microcontroller, cause the dock to detect a voice in adirection of the participant, and to rotate the IHS toward theparticipant in response to the detection.
 9. The memory device of claim8, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by themicrocontroller, cause the dock to change at least one of: (i) a colorof at least one illuminating element of a light ring; or an (ii)intensity of at least one illuminating element of a light ring toindicate a direction of the participant.
 10. The memory device of claim8, wherein to automatically rotate the IHS with respect to theparticipant, the program instructions, upon execution by themicrocontroller, cause the dock to detect a voice in a direction ofanother participant using a microphone array, and to rotate the IHS awayfrom the participant and toward the other participant in response to thedetection.
 11. The memory device of claim 10, wherein the programinstructions, upon execution by the microcontroller, cause the dock tochange at least one of: (i) a color of at least one illuminating elementof a light ring; or an (ii) intensity of at least one element of a lightring to indicate a direction of the other participant.
 12. In a dockconfigured to receive an Information Handling System (IHS), a methodcomprising: automatically rotating the IHS with respect to a participantof a video conference using a motor; changing at least one of: (i) acolor, or (ii) an intensity of at least one illuminating element of alight ring coupled to the dock to indicate a direction of theparticipant; detecting a voice in a direction of the participant using amicrophone array; and in response to a manual rotation of the IHS awayfrom the participant during the detection, modifying a behavior of thedock by ignoring sounds emitted by the participant during at least aportion of the video conference.
 13. The method claim 12, furthercomprising detecting a voice in a direction of the participant using amicrophone array, wherein the manual handling comprises a manualrotation away from the participant during the detection, and wherein tomodify the behavior, the method further comprises ignoring soundsemitted by the participant during at least a portion of the videoconference.